News Chopper Crashes Near Seattle Space Needle, 2 Dead

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Photo shows the moments after a news helicopter crashed in downtown Seattle, Wash.

Updated at 12:22 PM EDT on Tuesday, Mar 18, 2014

A news helicopter crashed near Seattle’s iconic Space Needle Tuesday morning leaving at least two dead and one hurt.

The chopper crashed into three cars along Broad Street near Fisher Plaza in the city's center shortly before 7:55 a.m. Pacific time, leaving a fiery wreck that took crews about 30 minutes to extinguish.

The chopper is operated by KOMO-TV and is used by KING 5 as part of a news-gathering partnership.

KOMO's studio -- where the chopper lands and takes off from -- is located a short distance from the crash site. The Federal Aviation Administration said that the chopper was taking off with three people on board when it tumbled to the ground about 50 meters from the Space Needle.